Lucky, who had been staggering with one tentacle severed, grinned wickedly.
“This is… not very Lucky♥ at all.”
“…”
“Well, fine. If you really want to fight, I have no choice. Belligerent handsome men are Lucky♥ in their own way.”
The tentacle that had clearly been severed by Deus’s saw regenerated rapidly. Lucky, who had suddenly plunged both hands deep into his own chest, trembled violently. Then he tore something out from inside his body.
Along with gushing blood, two hearts pulled out one in each hand stretched out long and instantly transformed into spears. Lucky, who had made one of the tentacles attached under his chin into a V shape, shouted confidently:
“Octopuses have three hearts! That’s Lucky♥ for me.”
The idiot who had exchanged his heart for a single sow clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Walking around with your heart out, what a complete idiot. Hearts are incredibly important. I don’t know why, but Ash said so.”
Are you one to talk?
Kiss, who had been sighing, drew his sword. I grabbed hold of Kiss and spoke calmly:
“You can’t just attack, because that guy…”
Before my explanation could finish, Death, who had leaped upward, descended toward Lucky with his saw aimed downward. With a thunderous crash, a sandstorm rose. When the sandstorm cleared, what came into view was Death, who had somehow become two. Toward Death, who was making a surprised expression, Lucky grinned wickedly.
“My ability is, you see, as long as flesh touches anyone. I can mimic that opponent. So… it means I can use the techniques you use too.”
“…”
“Plus, since I transform into the appearance of allies, I can even launch mental attacks.”
Mimic octopus beastman Lucky. A character with the fraudulent ability to transform into the appearance of opponents his tentacles touched and even copy their abilities. Even in the original work, Kiss considered him quite troublesome.
Because in this world setting, ability battles were also compatibility battles, so attacks of the same compatibility didn’t work at all. Like Lucky right now, easily absorbing the darkness sphere that Deus had launched.
Lucky’s spear, having easily deflected Death’s saw, soon floated several Void spheres in the air. Then it attacked not Deus but the side where we were.
“With attacks that aren’t Lucky♥ enough… you can’t defeat this body!”
As randomly pouring darkness spheres came at us, Kiss quickly summoned a barrier of light. However, the barrier eroded by the powerful force of darkness shattered very easily.
“Damn.”
Kiss quickly wrapped my body in his robe. Fragments of light that flew as the barrier shattered struck Kiss.
“This is troublesome, Deus and I don’t have very good compatibility.”
My body stiffened at the blood drops falling with a patter. Blood was flowing from Kiss’s side, pierced by the light fragments. Kiss, who had pushed me back, spoke in a low, sunken voice:
“So, what were you trying to say earlier?”
“The blood…”
“Yes, it’s blood. So don’t act stupid and answer me properly.”
My mind, which had momentarily gone blank at the cold tone, found its place again. I continued speaking while trying to calm my rapidly beating heart:
“I know Lucky’s weakness. It’s the third heart.”
“The third heart?”
Besides the two hearts made into weapons, one more heart existed. That was Lucky’s weakness. After a moment of silence, Kiss asked in a calm voice:
“Where is the heart located?”
I pointed to the dozens of glass bottles hanging from Lucky’s waist. Kiss smiled faintly.
“So he collected other guys’ hearts to hide his own heart.”
“Yes. But to get those glass bottles…”
“I know without you saying. It’s unpleasant, but it can’t be helped.”
Both Kiss’s and my gazes turned toward Deus simultaneously. Death, who had been sweeping his sweat-soaked hair back, winked one eye at me. Kiss muttered as if displeased:
“I have no choice but to cooperate with that idiot for a moment.”
Kiss, who had re-gripped his sword, dove toward Lucky without hesitation. When Lucky, who had spun his spear to block the sword, grabbed Kiss’s forearm, this time he transformed into Kiss’s appearance. That was the opportunity.
“Down with Kiss!”
Lucky, who had been making a bewildered expression at my sudden shout, frowned.
“What? Suddenly what…”
Crash!
The darkness sphere floating in the air pierced through Lucky’s body. Lucky, whose body had become tattered in an instant, coughed up blood. Since he’d received Death’s attack while in Kiss’s state, the effect seemed to have hit twice as hard.
“Wh-what is this… how can you attack an ally without any hesitation…”
Lucky, who had returned to his original form, staggered while clutching his tattered throat. Kiss and Death, standing on either side of Lucky, spoke simultaneously in voices full of irritation:
“Who’s an ally?”
“Who said we’re allies?”
Kiss, who had severed Lucky’s neck without hesitation, kicked the separated body toward Deus. Deus, who had snatched one of the glass bottles from the waist of the rolling body, smiled with satisfaction.
“Lucky, I found my heart.”
Deus, who had put the glass bottle containing his heart into his pocket, trampled the remaining glass bottles indiscriminately. Confirming the glass bottles shattering with crunching sounds, Lucky screamed in a voice filled with horror:
“Stop! Stop it! My, my heart… my Lucky♥ days…”
“Too bad, it would have been more fun if what’s in this bottle was balls instead of a heart.”
The moment Deus, clicking his tongue as if disappointed, trampled the last glass bottle, an un-Lucky♥ scream rang out.
Lucky, whose heart had been crushed, scattered into ash, and something appeared around Kiss.
“So this is the seal that can summon the Primordial Evil.”
Kiss, who had been smiling faintly, grabbed the sixth seal floating in the air. The sixth seal, emitting a red light, soon appeared around Deus as well. Perhaps the seal was given to the two who had the greatest influence in subjugating Lucky. I smiled bitterly at the seal that ultimately wasn’t given to me.
‘So they acknowledge those two but won’t acknowledge Ash…’
Just as I was quietly despairing, I felt a strange foreign sensation in my clenched fist. Suppressing my trembling heart, I opened my palm. On my palm was the same sixth seal that the two had.
In the original work, Ash never once possessed a seal. Because he was always too busy doing menial tasks Baron assigned rather than subjugating Guardians. Looking with an anxious expression thinking Kiss might steal it, Kiss turned his gaze away as if uninterested.
“I don’t need it, I already have one.”
“…Really? You won’t go back on your word later?”
“What does Ash think of me?”
Just as I was about to answer ‘I think you’re a control-freak egoist psychopath,’ I unconsciously supported Kiss as he staggered unable to keep his balance. The moment I confirmed Kiss’s robe, damp with blood, my heart sank.
‘No way.’
I laid down Kiss, who was breathing shallowly, and checked the wound area. The wound from the battle with Lucky was much deeper than expected. The ability Kiss possessed could easily heal any wound, but he couldn’t heal himself. That’s why Kiss didn’t particularly like his own ability.
“You’ve lost too much blood. If this continues, you’ll die.”
Honestly, it was true that I had wished for Kiss to die, but this time he’d been hurt protecting me, so I absolutely couldn’t pretend not to notice. Deus, who had grabbed my shoulder as I didn’t know what to do, opened his mouth.
“Ash, look at me.”
“…”
“Quickly.”
At Deus’s action urging me to look at him, I turned around. Deus, who had grabbed my hand as if pulling it while standing face to face, pressed something into my hand. The moment I confirmed the contents, my lips parted.
“My heart has the ability to rapidly heal any injury. You entertained me, so this is my reward for that. It’s a bit unfair to use this precious thing on Kiss… but he’s the person you love.”
“…”
“It was fun for a while, incomparably more than walking the sows. My heart is yours now, so whether you grill it or steam it, do as you please.”
What Deus had pressed into my hand was a glass bottle containing his own heart. Perhaps Deus was trying to give a final farewell, expecting that I too would leave this Void. As I stared at the glass bottle, words suddenly popped out without my knowing.
“It’s still strange to be okay with dying.”
“Hm?”
“You actually wanted to return to the real world. That’s why you mimicked the real world.”
I faced Deus while tightly gripping the glass bottle.
“The truth is, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t love this fake world. Right?”
Of course, at first I’d tried to make Deus an ally for my own safety, but now it was a bit different. From the moment I entered the Void, there was only one emotion I felt. Terrible loneliness.
The image of young Deus creating creations while longing for the real world in the ashen streets with no one around kept flickering before me. I knew better than anyone how painful it was to spend time in a room no one looked into.
I wanted to pull Deus out of that room. I felt that if I pulled Deus out, the young me could also escape from that narrow room.
“Melody definitely said so, that this world disappears the moment you recognize you no longer need it. Trust me, you don’t need this world anymore.”
“…”
“Because I’ll give you another world you can love.”
When I opened the glass bottle, the black light trapped inside wrapped around Deus’s body. It seemed to be the process of receiving his heart back.
Before long, the completely emptied glass bottle dropped to the ground with a thud. I grabbed the hand of Deus, who was quietly looking down at me. And spoke in an unwavering voice:
“So… come with me, Deus.”
The hand I gripped tightly trembled and flinched. For the first time, light formed in Deus’s eyes, which had never shown any gleam. A brilliant light swirled around the body of Deus, who was making a blank expression.
A flash so bright it was hard to properly open my eyes filled my vision completely. Just as I was about to unconsciously let go of the hand I was holding due to the dazzling light, I felt a large hand interlock fingers with mine. As if finally obtaining something I’d been searching for a long time.
Chirp, chirp.
I slowly opened my closed eyes at the sound of birds chirping. A blue sky came into view. The grass tickling my cheek gave off a fresh grassy scent.
Judging by the clear air I couldn’t feel in the Void, it seemed we’d safely made it outside. I quietly blinked and slowly turned my head. Deus, who seemed to have regained consciousness before me, was quietly looking up at the blue sky.
“How does it feel to bask in sunlight after so long?”
Deus slowly turned his head. A faint smile appeared on his expressionless face. I unconsciously froze at the refreshing smile that didn’t suit Deus. Deus, who had pulled my hand, suddenly pressed his lips to the back of it. At Deus’s following words, I let out a small laugh and closed my eyes again.
“I feel like I’ve fallen in love.”
